Naked Neck/Turken Thread

[Phill98]

Golem!

Golem is a word here and it describes somebody who is huge. I think that you didn't know tgat then, but how big he is, lol!?

 

[Fire Ant Farm]

Quote:
Thanks - yeah, I've pretty much decided to cull him, whenever I can get around to it.

As I am new to having roosters, could you guys maybe describe what sort of behavior would be called repeatedly raping? I don't really know what I should expect and have been watching Snape - not every act is consensual, and he chases, but if I culled every cockerel/rooster that chased and tried to mount pullets against their will, I'd have none left. Just wondering what other folks consider and where they draw the line. (Knowing that I will have to make my own decision about it in the end...)

- Ant Farm

 

[nchvac]

Folks with the rooster taming problems, chicken psycology is a thing and when dealing with these birds I have found less involvement is better. You have to show them who is boss without teasing or chasing them. You don't have to all the way act like a rooster, but you definitely have to think like one. YOU HAVE TO WATCH YOUR MOVES BECAUSE THEY ARE WATCHING EVERY THING YOU DO. Just like a dog, everything counts. Ie, if you move out of the roosters way or walk around him, he will make note of it and eventually you will be challenged. If you catch it early the challenge will simply be a standoff. If you back down then you are going to have trouble claiming your spot on top of the chain again. Best to not lose that spot to begin with and here is one way you can do that. NEVER HIT OR CHASE THE ROOSTER- THIS IS VERY COUNTER PRODUCTIVE AND INSTEAD OF BEING ON TOP OF THE CHAIN THEY SEEM TO SEPERATE YOU FROM BEING PART OF THE FLOCK, at least that is a simple way to put it. You are part of your flock, and IT IS YOUR FLOCK, so don't submit it to the rooster. Let him have the girls because that is what he is for, but let him know that he is over them and you are over him. You are CEO, he is a manager. Get that in your head because if you don't you will not get it into his. And don't go acting like a rooster, that is just crazy and you will scare them. You don't want to scare, you want to claim your rank and own it.

Every once in a while I will take an apple outside and eat it in front of the rooster. When I am finished I throw him the core. What this says to him is the same thing it tells my dog when I feed him after me and the family eat- it tells them that we are top of chain, on top of the pecking order so we eat first because we are dominant. The rooster can be next in line, but I am top. When I walk out in the yard and I see him act a little strange and he eases up to me, he will poke his chest out like he is about to crow. I say "No, that is my job". He will look frustrated and after a minute or two do the same thing. I repeat "No that is my job". At this point they usually get restless and may crow. If so I raise my voice in the middle of the crow and repeat "No, that is my job" and usually they stop mid crow and go on. I DON"T CROW because again, that is just plain crazy and they know it and Crazy People scare chickens just like they do us. What I am doing is letting him know in a strong voice (deep and authoritative, not hollering- kind of like when you are trying to take charge of a conversation with an alpha type or extroverted person) that this is my yard. At that point his feathers stand up and he gives a good shake and takes a couple steps away. At that point I walk over to where he was standing and I stand there and ever so slightly I raise my posture and slightly poke out my chest (which happens when you raise your poster) and I watch him. I am trying to get him to be uncomfortable and walk away. Once he does, I have won. It is really that simple. Calm and authoritative gets the message across, most every other action is counter productive and should be avoided. More challenges will take place in the days to come, you can count on that, but eventually it will stop.

Now if you have ever had 2 roosters in your flock a lot of this is going to be a AHA moment because these challenges and actions are those of a dominant bird over another rooster during a challenge. The difference is that there is no fight or contact. I think that even when a bird loses a fight somewhere inside of him he thinks he had some strong points and the other had weak points so he thinks if he does it again he may win. This method I am showing you never lets him see how strong you are. He just has to see that you think you have strength to defeat him and when he realizes this he will defeat himself in his mind, and the mind is where it is at.

That is all there is to it. You got to show them that you are not an enemy but you are in charge. And if you are male and have a wife and kids, they need to not submit to the rooster or he will think he is higher up on the chain than them. When my wife and dog are out in the yard and the rooster eases over to them (because he knows they are "mine", I slowly walk in between them and him and I face him and we have a standoff for however long he wants to. I just stand there and in a couple of minutes he will walk away (but don't do this type of thing when the other humans are feeding the birds, because that is sending mixed messages). All you are doing is countering his curiosity. DON"T INDUCE THE ACTIONS, BUT DO COUNTER THEM. I left these actions unchecked with one rooster of mine because I assumed since he was a pet to me he was to my wife as well and I was wrong. Basically the rooster tried to claim my wife when I wasn't around (which she thought he was terrorizing her but he was just trying to get her to submit to him by making her scared of him ) so I had to cull a lap rooster that was like a puppy dog to me but was pure demonic to my wife and dog. That rooster did not have a mean bone in his body but what he did have was Rooster Instinct and these are the keys to dealing with that instinct. Good Luck!

 

[generaldsherman]

I have a NN chick that has a funky bulge on it's right shoulder. It might be the crop, but is it normal to be able to see a chick's crop if it's a NN?

 

[DesertChic]

Thanks - yeah, I've pretty much decided to cull him, whenever I can get around to it.

As I am new to having roosters, could you guys maybe describe what sort of behavior would be called repeatedly raping? I don't really know what I should expect and have been watching Snape - not every act is consensual, and he chases, but if I culled every cockerel/rooster that chased and tried to mount pullets against their will, I'd have none left. Just wondering what other folks consider and where they draw the line. (Knowing that I will have to make my own decision about it in the end...)

- Ant Farm

Your birds are still pretty young so both the cockerels and pullets are figuring things out so all mating may resemble rape for a while. Eventually you'll notice when the pullets are more accepting of the cockerel trying to mate with them, and when they're trying to flat out reject the affections by either running away screaming or even turning and challenging him. That said, excessive mating, even when 'accepted' by a female, takes its toll. I finally had to separate my EE rooster, Chewey, from his flock because he literally would not stop mating his favorite hen. She would run screeching straight for me or for another larger rooster, begging for protection, but Chewey would literally mate with her a dozen times inside of five minutes or less. Not only is her back completely bald, but so is her cap. And sometimes her apparent acquiescence to him resulted in other roosters running over to gang rape her too. She would just huddle on the ground, having assumed the position, and cry out while she was repeatedly mounted. It was really quite awful to watch.

 

[nchvac]

I see the crop on mine. It seems to me that the crop on NN are small in comparision to other chickens but this point is not brought up much.

 

[DesertChic]

I have a NN chick that has a funky bulge on it's right shoulder. It might be the crop, but is it normal to be able to see a chick's crop if it's a NN?

The crop is often visible on a NN. You can clearly see the crop on my rooster, Heisenberg.

 

[generaldsherman]

The crop is often visible on a NN. You can clearly see the crop on my rooster, Heisenberg.

Weird! That's exactly what it is, though. Thanks! I fell better.

 

[nchvac]

Is it normal for a NN to prefer foraging and Cracked Corn over feed? All of my hens tear the feed up but the rooster sits back and waits until the corn is put in the feeder and then they better get out of the way. He loves him some corn.
Are the hens the same, or is it just that the rooster doesn't need the nutrients in the Layer feed so he doesn't crave the feed? It is good feed- Dumor from TSC. I used to feed Purina Layena until I noticed the tags are remarkable similar, the feed looks/smells the same and the only difference in the labeling is some of the supplements are not listed in the daily allowance type chart yet the mineral supplement ingredients are clearly listed as being added. Also the bag is of the same material and stiching, so I call BS on a difference unless I am told otherwise.

 

[nchvac]

Weird! That's exactly what it is, though. Thanks! I fell better.

Yeah, compare that to a different breed and see how much larger and how the crop on a different breed covers both sides of the neck instead of just the right side (left looking at the chicken). This breed is as unique to chickens as Muscovies are to ducks.